Arizona Officials Announce Support for Mayors' Plan to Fix the National Gun Background Check System

Full Plan Available at www.FixGunChecks.org

NEW YORK, Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mayors Against Illegal Guns today announced support from a broad range of leaders from Arizona for its two-step plan to fix the national gun background check system and fulfill the intent of the historic 1968 gun law. The full plan is available at www.FixGunChecks.org.  

"If the right information was in the background check system, the Arizona shooter wouldn't have been able to buy a gun; neither would the Virginia Tech shooter who went on to murder 32 people," said Mayor Bloomberg. "The time has clearly come to finally fulfill the intent of the 1968 law and the Brady Bill, by creating a genuine, credible background check system for the sale of firearms. I welcome the support of so many Arizonans for our plan to fix the background check system."

Below are statements of support from:

• Jim Kolbe, former Congressman from Arizona's 8th district, the seat of Rep. Giffords
• Daniel Hernandez, Rep. Giffords' intern, present at the shooting
• Raul Grijalva, Congressman from Arizona's 7th District
• Bruce Babbitt, former Governor of Arizona
• Dennis DeConcini, former U.S. Senator representing Arizona
• Grant Woods, former Attorney General of Arizona
• Terry Goddard, former Attorney General of Arizona
• Neil Giuliano, former Mayor of Tempe

"When I retired from Congress in 2006 after serving eleven terms representing the 8th Congressional District of Arizona, I was succeeded in office by Congresswoman Gabby Giffords," said Republican former Congressman Jim Kolbe.  "Like me, Gabby has always been a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights and is herself a gun owner.  But after years of conducting literally hundreds of public events with voters in my district, I was, like all Americans, stunned and horrified by the image of a deranged man bringing chaos and death to Gabby's meeting with her constituents.  It was an assault on the very essence of our democracy.  This person should never have had that gun in the first place.  I support the mayors' proposal to prevent others like him from getting guns by making sure that the key records which would have prohibited such a purchase are in the system, and that every gun buyer must pass a complete and accurate check before making a gun purchase."

"Our response to the recent shootings in Arizona should include an honest assessment of our gun laws, said Bruce Babbitt, former Governor of Arizona and United States Secretary of the Interior. "At the very least, we should be able to agree to closing gaps in the background check system so that all relevant information is submitted and each buyer can be properly checked. It's the responsible thing to do, and that's why I support the mayors' efforts."

"On the morning of January 8, the lives of an entire community changed," said Daniel Hernandez, intern to United States Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords dubbed the "Hero Intern" for his efforts to protect and care for Representative Giffords after the Arizona shooting. "The people of Tucson, Arizona, and the nation were turned upside-down by a barrage of bullets fired by a dangerous, disturbed man with a gun. From the moment those of us who were unharmed began helping the victims of the attack, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords, it has been clear to me that much more must be done to prevent similar attacks in the future. It is my hope that President Obama and Congress will work together right away to reform our gun background check system so that all records of dangerous people are in the system and all gun buyers will have to pass a thorough background check. And that this be done in a way that does not infringe on Second Amendment rights, so that responsible citizens may exercise their right to bear arms."

"The recent attack on a crowd of innocent Arizonans in Tucson, including my friend, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was an attack on all of Arizona, and an attack on our democracy," said former Republican Attorney General of Arizona Grant Woods. "A responsible and civilized society requires enforcing the law and protecting the peace. For eight years, that was my job as Arizona's Attorney General. And while I support the Second Amendment rights of responsible, law-abiding Americans, I also support tough, common sense laws to keep guns out of the hands of felons, drug abusers, the mentally ill and other dangerous people -- laws that we've had on the books in our country for 43 years. I call on Congress to reform our background check system so it includes all the records it needs to be accurate, and so that it applies to all gun sales."

"Since the shooting in Tucson on January 8th," said Congressman Raul Grijalva of Arizona's 7th District, "we have all been focused on the recovery of my dear friend and colleague, Gabrielle Giffords, and the many other victims and their families.   We will continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers, but it is also important to focus on preventing future gun-related tragedies.  Gabby and I share representation of Tucson, and this violent shooting has hit our community hard.  We are a resilient community, and we'll pull through, but we need to know that something good will come out of this terrible event.  I believe the common sense proposals by the bipartisan Mayors Against Illegal Guns will go a long way toward making all our communities safer.  It is time to ensure that all the records of prohibited purchasers are in the system and that those seeking to purchase guns go through a background check.  I don't want other communities to go through what we've had to face in Tucson."

"The January 8 attack on our friends and fellow citizens in Tucson will leave deep scars, said Terry Goddard, former Attorney General of Arizona.  "The tragedy raises disturbing questions about public access to elected officials in our democratic system.  At the very least, it requires us to redouble efforts to prevent similar attacks.  We must at long last carry out what this country began after the assassination of President Kennedy, the rigorous compilation of prohibited possessor data, access to that data prior to authorizing a gun purchase and the closing loopholes which allow prohibited possessors to go around the background check requirement."

"Just as the tragic shootings in my home state of Arizona have impacted Americans all across the nation, this incident has affected me deeply," said former Arizona Senator Dennis DeConcini.  "Thirteen people were injured, including Representative Gabby Giffords, and six people are no longer with us because a dangerous person who should have been blocked from buying a gun was able to do so and able to equip it with a large capacity ammunition clip.   Many of these victims are people I have known for years.  I worked with the Congresswoman over many years and know how dedicated she has been to our State and Nation. Judge John Roll was hired by my office when I was Pima County Attorney.  He was truly an outstanding Jurist, dedicated to his family and the community.  These losses and injuries did not have to happen and could have been prevented if we had reasonable firearm protection laws in place. The proposal of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the bi-partisan Mayors Against Illegal Guns to require background checks on all gun purchasers and improve the background check system makes common sense and is urgently needed.   This proposal will not impact law abiding Americans ability to purchase firearms, but is rightly directed where it should be – at criminals and others who present a danger to society."

"The horrific attack on my fellow Arizonans, including my friend Rep. Gabby Giffords, was an attack on our democracy," said Neil Giuliano, former Mayor of Tempe, Arizona.  "It was also an indictment of a system that lets dangerous people slip through cracks in our laws.  It is not just possible to support the constitutional right of Americans to own guns while ensuring that they don't fall into the wrong hands; it's essential.  As a former mayor, I strongly support the effort of Mayors Against Illegal Guns to ensure that all necessary records are in the federal instant background check system, and to guarantee that every person who buys a gun must first pass that check."

Contact: Mayor Bloomberg's Press Office (212) 788-2958

Mayor Menino's Press Office (617) 635-4461

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns